Jerry, hi .
You could try compatibility mode , Windows XP or Windows 7.
The game is pretty old ...

JEDIGEG, I tried installing on my win7 system instead and have the same result. Could it be something to do with the resolution on the monitor? The message I see after the black screen is the monitor going to into power save mode.

Jerry, did you try to set the resolution to 1024 x768 ?

Also , in the compatibility mode , there is a choice to run the game in 640 x 480 resolution .
Maybe that will work ...
Not the best solution , but , if the game works , maybe you can change some settings of
the game and resolve the problem .

JEDIGEG, I was notified by email that someone suggested I try setting the resolution to 1024x768. Whoever that was thanks, it worked. Now if I could find a way to get the game to play on my second monitor instead of the main one so playing it with that setting does not mess up my desktop that would be great.

Jerry, hi.
That someone that suggested trying setting the resolution to 1024x768 ,
was obviously me ... :-)
It's a common problem that old games have with the new widescreen monitors
and high resolutions .

Question ... after installing the game under Windows 7 , did you try to set
Windows XP in compatibility mode ?
As I said before , the game is pretty old .

JEDIGEG, I tried compatibility mode specifying XP but it did not help. I tried it on Win10 too same result black screen although I can hear the game sound. I suspect it might have to do with the 23" monitor and the high resolution I have as monitor one on a two monitor system.

Jerry, the reason that I talk about setting Windows XP in compatibility mode , is because
I still use Windows XP 32 bit , my monitor is 26" , set to 1920 by 1200 pixels and the game
plays without any problems .
Maybe you could update your graphics card drivers ...

Just remembered it .
There is a small , FREE program , that will help you with your messed up desktop .
I found it 7 years ago and have saved me from a lot of grief in numerous cases .
Here is the link (Home page) :
http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/DesktopOK

BobbyA,

Hi Bobby, which set up are you trying to whitelist? It should be the setup .gcd file that requires whitelisting. It is that file that is causing the issue and is where the Themida wrapper is located.

Just a reminder that Themida code can and is used to hide malware; which is why some antimalware suites keep tagging it as suspect. The giveaway team started to use the Themida wrapper several years ago when it became obvious that some community members had figured out how to save a fully registered unwrapped executable (via the AppData hidden folder). Some unscrupulous community members went further and uploaded those unprotected executables to peer to peer sites, where I'm sure you may still be able to download some of them. With the unwrapped exe file you could install the registered game on any computer and any time after the giveaway ended. This resulted in some developers who had previously given thousands of their games to the community to stop providing games and others threatened to stop giving if the giveaway team couldn't protect their property; so the Themida wrapper was added. Sadly hackers always find ways around these things and eventually spoil it for everyone.

BobbyA, i have this problem with some games just turn off malwarebytes (the windows security should take over) download & install the game then turn malwarebytes back on

BobbyA,
Happens to me with Zemana. I've learned to turn off "Realtime Protection" before doing the install from here AND leaving it off for the first launch of the game. After that, it works fine with protection on. I hope that helps.

Whiterabbit-uk, Malwarebytes has a "feature" allowing one to select a folder to ignore, not just a file. Since I've not had an actual malware problem via GAOTD in many many years, I decided to just tell MB to ignore any contents of the GAOTD folder, and put all the downloads there as they come in. However I'm beginning to think this feature only works for subsequent file scanning and not when they are executed.

BobbyA, The 53K file appears to be the source of the popup that runs in a center box while the main game is loading (or delayed). The box shows a different game in hopes you will be sidetracked to it.

bolivar,

Verifique la carpeta de juegos instalados. Si encuentra una carpeta con opciones de idioma, es posible que pueda cambiar el idioma a español. No he instalado el juego, así que no puedo asegurarlo.

Why the down votes? The person asked a reasonable question. Come on, how about some kindness folks!

bolivar,
(using translate) Tengo el juego y apenas comprobado y no hay opciones de la lengua en todos, él está solamente en inglés.

Es un HOG justo estándar. He encontrado muchos de los artículos en las escenas del HOG absolutamente difíciles de encontrar y pienso que he utilizado más indirectas que tengo siempre en cualquier otro juego.
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I have the game and just checked and there are no language options at all, it is only in english.

It's a standard fair HOG. I've found many of the items in the HOG scenes quite difficult to find and I think I've used more hints than I ever have in any other game.

Thanks to all involved for the giveaway. Stay safe.